1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to storage of granular material such as animal feed, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for adjustably directing granular material out of a container and reducing outlet pressure in the container.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In various industries, such as those involving agriculture and manufacturing, it is often necessary to store relatively large amounts of granular material. In agriculture, for example, it is often necessary to store substantial quantities of feed for animal husbandry operations. When used in such industries, the granular material is often initially loaded into an opening located at the top of a container which is used for temporary storage of the granular material. The granular material is then later removed from the container immediately prior to use through an opening located at the bottom of a funnel-shaped portion of the container.
As the granular material is removed from the container at a lower outlet portion using a conventional boot and auger assembly, the granular material tends to unload unevenly and have a non-uniform mass flow. In worse case conditions, a side unloading condition may occur within the container, where the granular material is generally flowing out of the container more along one side of the container causing the slower flowing granular material to concentrate along a higher wall. This uneven distribution of granular material within the container may result in collar warpage or damage along the lower outlet portion and, in extreme circumstances, panels along the lower funnel shaped portion may deform or split and give way under this uneven loading of the granular material. To reduce this problem, an outlet portion having a chimney configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,293, which is hereby incorporated by reference. However, even with the use of such a system, xe2x80x9cbridgingxe2x80x9d of the granular material within the container may still result. This xe2x80x9cbridgingxe2x80x9d forms in the container where pockets or portions of the granular material are removed leaving a subsequent bridge of granular material which, over time, may fall or xe2x80x9cfeed crashxe2x80x9d within the container, further causing potential structural problems within the container. This bridging generally occurs because of a build-up in feed pressures at the outlet of the container.
Conventional boot and auger assemblies are generally coupled to the lower outlet portion of the container to provide either a horizontal delivery direction or an angled delivery direction, in which case, the auger is routed or angled upward relative to the ground. In order to provide either this horizontal routing along the ground or an upward routing to direct the granular material into other containers or into other locations, various types of individual shaped sleeves or wedge portions are utilized to provide this angled direction. However, this provides clearance problems in some assemblies by the addition of the wedge portion, as well as requires the addition of a separate component to be added to the boot and auger assembly which may be labor intensive and time consuming. Additionally, rotation of the boot and auger assembly to provide 360xc2x0 directional control is generally not possible due to the way the boot and auger assembly is secured to the container.
Conventional boot and auger assemblies also require periodic cleaning to insure a smooth flow of the granular material through the auger. To achieve this, conventional boot and auger assemblies generally provide an access panel or door located adjacent to the auger which provides access to a portion of the auger once opened or removed. However, access to the entire auger assembly is generally not provided by such a panel or door mechanism which may tend to leave a portion of the granular material within the auger during this cleaning process.
Still further, conventional boot and auger assemblies generally utilize what is known as a cannon ball which rides atop or bounces on the auger as the auger is rotated to agitate and loosen the granular material as it flows into the auger assembly. The cannon ball is also generally contained or captured between a pair of baffles located above the auger assembly which directs the granular material into the auger assembly. This type of agitator works very well when the particular container is transferring granular material through the boot and auger assembly, however, when the slide gate above the boot and auger assembly is closed, thereby inhibiting granular material from being transferred, the cannon ball still engages or bounces off the auger as the continuous auger passing through the various containers is rotated. This unneeded impact creates undue noise and wear on the auger when the particular container is not transferring granular material. Moreover, by providing baffles which are fixed relative to the cannon ball, there is no level of adjustment available to fine tune or direct the amount of granular material entering the auger assembly.
What is needed then is a method and apparatus for adjustably directing granular material out of the container and reducing outlet pressure in the container without suffering from the above mentioned disadvantages. This, in turn, will reduce outlet pressure within the container, thereby reducing or eliminating xe2x80x9cbridgingxe2x80x9d of the granular material from within the container; reduce or eliminate xe2x80x9cfeed crashxe2x80x9d caused by xe2x80x9cbridging;xe2x80x9d provide a versatile lower outlet portion which may be used to both direct granular material along a horizontal plane or in an upward direction relative to the horizontal plane in one assembly, thereby reducing the overall time and labor involved in adjustably directing the granular material out of the container, as well as reducing or eliminating clearance problems; provide a rotatable coupling for the boot and auger assembly to provide 360xc2x0 directional control of the granular material; provide an agitator which may be elevated above the auger assembly when not in use, thereby reducing undue noise and wear on the auger assembly; and provide a boot and auger assembly which may be easily accessed to provide a thorough cleaning of the boot and auger assembly. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus for adjustably directing granular material out of a container and reducing outlet pressure in the container.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for adjustably directing granular material out of a container and reducing outlet pressure in the container. This is essentially achieved by providing a first transverse opening dimension (x1) which is smaller than a second transverse opening dimension (x2), such that as the granular material passes through this area, pressure relief is achieved to eliminate bridging of the granular material within the container.
In one preferred embodiment, an apparatus for directing granular material through a container includes a converging transition portion and an elongated chimney portion. The converging transition portion defines an input opening that converges to an output opening. The output opening has a transverse opening dimension (x1). The elongated chimney portion is coupled to the converging transition portion adjacent the output opening and has a second transverse opening dimension (x2). The first transverse opening dimension (x1) is smaller than the second transverse opening dimension (x2). This enables the granular material to pass through the output opening having the first transverse opening dimension (x1) into the elongated chimney portion having the second transverse opening dimension (x2), thereby relieving the outlet pressure created in the converging transition portion to minimize bridging of the granular material within the container.
In another preferred embodiment, an apparatus for directing granular material through a container includes a first cylindrical inclined portion, a second cylindrical inclined portion and a coupling flange. The first cylindrical inclined portion is coupled to the container and the second cylindrical inclined portion is rotatably coupled to the first cylindrical inclined portion. The coupling flange is disposed along a first inclined edge of the first cylindrical inclined portion and disposed along a second inclined edge of the second cylindrical inclined portion, such that the second cylindrical inclined portion may be rotated relative to the first cylindrical inclined portion to adjustably change the direction of routing the granular material out of the container.
In yet another preferred embodiment, a container for storing granular material includes a cover portion, a sidewall member, a converging portion, a lower outlet portion and a rotatably coupling mechanism. The cover portion substantially covers the granular material stored in the container. The sidewall member has an upper portion and a lower portion with the upper portion attached to the cover portion and the sidewall member being operable to confine the granular material stored in the container. The converging portion is attached to the lower portion of the sidewall member and is operable to guide the granular material to an outlet in the converging portion. The lower outlet portion is operable to direct the granular material out of the container. The rotatable coupling mechanism is disposed between the converging portion and the lower outlet portion and is operable to permit the lower outlet portion to be rotated relative to the container to rotatably direct the granular material out of the container.
In another preferred embodiment, a method for directing granular material through a container is disclosed. This method includes providing a converging transition portion having a converging sidewall that converges to an output opening having a first transverse opening dimension (x1), providing an elongated chimney portion having a second transverse opening dimension (x2) with the first transverse opening dimension (x1) being smaller than the second transverse opening dimension (x2), coupling the elongated chimney portion to the converging transition portion, filling the container with the granular material, and moving the granular material from the container through the converging transition portion and the elongated chimney portion, whereby relief of outward feed pressure generated in the converging transition portion is created.
Use of the present invention provides a method and apparatus for adjustably directing granular material through a container. As a result, the aforementioned disadvantages associated with the currently available methods, and techniques for storing and removing granular material from a container have been substantially reduced or eliminated.